Our Little Secret
by Lady Scarlet-Une
Summary: Some lime. 4xR(sort of). New Year's is a day of new beginnings...


Our Little Secret

Our Little Secret

By Lady Scarlet-Une

AC 204

Relena Darlian watched the countdown on the television from the corner of her eye.She was usually at a formal ball of some sort on New Year's, but she had decided to opt out this year and spend it at home.It just made things much easier.

As the clock struck midnight, however, Relena couldn't help but sigh. She smiled, however, as she stared down at the small white card in her hand.It had arrived in the mail today, just like those before it for the past five years, unsigned and short worded like before.

_Our little secret._

Just a small reminder that she hadn't always been alone.

She toasted the screen and then drained the wine from her glass.

***

AC 199

Relena watched the passing people from her corner.

'Another year, another ball.'

Through the crowd, she could see various familiar faces.A few of her colleagues were still working the crowd despite the occasion.Duo was gallantly pulling out a chair for a blushing and hugely pregnant Hilde while Wufei hovered over the buffet, making little towers of cheese cubes on his plate.She couldn't see either Quatre or Trowa, but she was sure they were somewhere in the throng.As for Heero…

She drained her champagne glass and then threw it over her shoulder.She smiled at the silence that followed.

"You can come out, Heero."

Heero stepped up to her side, champagne glass in one hand.He frowned at her.

"Omae o korosu."

Relena snorted."Tell me something I haven't heard."

"Fine.Your dress is halfway unzipped."

Relena gasped and reached behind her, but Heero beat her to it.He zipped it up efficiently, briefly touching her bare back.

"Thank you," she said lightly.

"Hn."

They stood side by side and watched the dancers for several more moments before Relena said her goodbyes and stepped out of the alcove.Spotting Quatre across the room, she made a beeline for his corner, snagging more champagne on the way.

"Why Mr. Winner, I thought for sure you'd be out on the dance floor charming ladies right now," she said as she handed him a glass.He smiled at her and winked over the rim.

"I don't need to be dancing to charm ladies, do I?"

Relena laughed."Oh touché."

The chatted amiably for several minutes, but it soon became clear that Quatre was distracted.Following his gaze, Relena smirked at the dancing form of Dorothy Catalonia in the distance.

"Reliving old war memories, Quatre?"

"More like making some up," he murmured, an odd glint in his eye.Relena toasted him with her glass.

"I know the feeling," she said, her eyes falling on Heero.He was, as usual, looking stoic and consulting his handheld security device.She shook her head and sighed."Aren't we pathetic.Moping about like two teenagers."

"We are teenagers."

"You get my point."

"Yes, and I do admit you have one."

They stood in silence for several more moments before Relena shrugged her shoulders and sighed."I hate parties like this.Hell, I hate parties period.It's not like it used to be when we were younger and actually had something to look forward to.Now it's just another excuse for people to spring work on you."

Quatre didn't reply, just swirled the contents of his glass around.Relena was about ready to give up and throw herself back into the crowd when Quatre looked up.

"Tonight's the end of a dream, Relena." Relena raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the odd look on his face."Nevermind."He lapsed into silence for several moments before falling into his customary pleasant look."Y'know what would be really nice right now?"

"What?"

"Getting really drunk and making fools of ourselves."

Relena blinked."Quatre, I didn't know you had it in you.Isn't that against your religion or something? Also, I really don't think that would help our reputations in any way.I really doubt that Prime Minister Tanaka" - she nodded her head in the direction of a short man next to the buffet – "or Vice President Tallmadge would think kindly of us accosting them drunkenly."

Quatre shrugged."So we'll do it in private.Do you really think anyone will miss us?" She still looked skeptical."Come on.Just this once.It could be our little secret." His expression hardened slightly as he looked over her shoulder."I just don't want to be here anymore."

She knew who was still waltzing behind her, so Relena didn't bother following Quatre's gaze when she turned around.Instead, she shifted her speculative gaze to the crowd in front of them."What the hell.Let's leave quickly."

They exited the ballroom, smirking all the way.

In the middle of the dance floor, Dorothy Catalonia scowled over her dance partner's shoulder as she watched the two exit the ballroom.

Across the room, Heero Yuy's eyes narrowed as he watched the couple slip out.

Shortly afterwards, both exited the room as well.

"Quatre, this was a wonderful idea.No one will ever find us here."

"Knew I was a CEO for something."

They sat in the back of Quatre's limo, surrounded by several bottles of champagne and some hors d'oveures they'd snitched from the kitchen.On the other side of the opaque glass partition, the ever-faithful Abdul manned the driver's seat with the order to "just drive."

Relena giggled as the champagne bubbles tickled her nose.The last glass had pushed her over the edge into giddy drunkenness.Quatre wasn't doing too well, either.Though he looked perfectly sober, he had tied his tie around his head commando style sometime during the night and had used some of Relena's lipstick as warpaint.

"Why couldn't we fight in the jungle?" he slurred."I always thought camouflage was my color."

Relena giggled and hiccupped in response."It would've been better than that God awful pink and purple color scheme of yours."

"Hey! I've attracted MAAANY women with that outfit."

"Oh yeah? Then why aren't you here with the great Duchess Dorothy then?" she mocked.

Quatre shrugged."She's more the leather and whips type."He snickered."I still haven't found a bondage outfit in purple or pink leather yet.One day…"He trailed off and wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully, leering at her over the rim of his glass.

Relena laughed."Oh yeah.Watch out, Dorothy, here comes the Easter dominatrix!"

And so the conversation went on, their degree of lucidity decreasing with every drink.At one point in the evening, Quatre began to talk about the more humorous aspects of his stint as a Gundam pilot.

"Remember that time when I was under the ZERO system and seeing all those weird images?"

Relena snorted."That's a stupid question."

"Well yeah.But anyway, at one point, I remember your image flashing across my mind.Except, for some reason, you were naked and beckoning me like so."Quatre posed seductively with his legs akimbo and licked his lips."And I distinctly remember thinking something like, 'If I ever need money, I could make a naughty hentai doujinshi about this!'"

Relena laughed so hard that her drink sloshed out of her glass.She wiped the tear from her eye and looked back at Quatre, a smile on her face.Quatre wasn't smiling.

"What's wrong? Liquor getting to you?"

Quatre carefully set his glass down and sat up, a speculative look on his face."Have you ever thought about having sex with me?"

Relena stopped smiling.

Back at the Sanq Kingdom palace, Heero stalked through the halls, methodically searching for any sign of the errant couple.After analyzing the situation, he'd concluded that leaving the burden of protecting Relena solely on Quatre was not advisable.Quatre's former Gundam piloting experience had also been taken into consideration.

Heero looked for his charge, to no success.He was beginning to feel frustrated when he reached the guest bedrooms.On a hunch, he walked to Quatre's door and found it locked.He tensed and applied pressure to the jamb until the lock broke with a small click.He slipped into the room and scanned the perimeter, instantly noticing a large lump in the middle of the bed.Having never had any problems with such trivial matters as privacy and decency, Heero walked up to the bed without any qualms and flipped on the bedside lamp.

Trowa blinked at him sleepily."Heero?"

Another head popped out from under the covers, squinting in the light.For the first time in his life, Heero felt something close to embarrassment as he stared into the face of a very annoyed Lady Une.

Relena swallowed audibly."Quatre, that's not funny."

Quatre shook his head and moved closer, looking perfectly serious despite the lipstick smear on his face."It wasn't supposed to be.Think about it, Relena.We wait around and hope that they'll notice us and love us and fulfill our dreams.We both know better, but we wait anyway.The fact of the matter is that it's awfully lonely in our self-imposed isolation, and we both could use something to help us through," he said, lightly running his hand up her arm to her bare shoulder.Relena shivered.

"Quatr-re, we're not very sober and I don't think – "

"That's our problem, Relena.We THINK too much.We think about our jobs, we think about the whole world, we think about _them_."He tilted her chin up and her wide eyes met his."They're never going to notice us the way we want, Relena.If they ever found out, they wouldn't _care_ the way we want them to.So what's to stop us from taking this night for ourselves?"

He tugged gently on her chin till their faces were inches apart.

"I…I've never done this sort of thing before.Or had sex before.It just seems – "

"Waiting for him won't get you anywhere, Relena."

Relena blinked back sudden tears.The truth hurt, but that wasn't her primary concern at the moment."I know, but…it's just that I don't LOVE you, Quatre.You're the best friend I have, but that still doesn't make what you're saying right.It seems cheap."

"Can you think of anyone else you would want to share this with?"

"But that's not a good enough reason."

"We're in identical situations, Relena.We can't leave the past behind, but we can't move on, either.No one else would best understand what we're going through.So would it really be horrible to spend this night with the one person who can truly understand what it would mean to you?"

They stared at each other in silence.She knew how wrong his idea was, but she also knew he had a point she couldn't ignore.She had known how futile her love for Heero was all along, but she couldn't let it go.As a result, the loneliness had been gnawing away at her.What was this one night in the grand scheme of things? They'd both still have their personal shrines to attend to in the morning, so nothing would really change.

She took one last uncertain look into his eyes."You'll still be my friend in the morning?"

"If you'll still be mine."

She nodded hesitantly before slowly leaning forward and kissing him.

"Well, if it isn't the one and only Heero Yuy."

Heero turned around, frowning.Dorothy Catalonia sighed dramatically and clutched her hands over her heart."Fancy running into you here, Heero!"

Without a word, Heero turned around and began walking off again.Dorothy smirked.

"So dedicated to your _missions_, aren't you, Heero? And what's the problem this time? Is it a terrorist threat?" She tapped her chin with one finger, thoughtfully gazing up at the ceiling."Or perhaps you're looking for stolen silverware in the guests' suitcases."

Heero kept walking and turned the corner.

"Or maybe you're looking for Miss Relena and Quatre."

There was a brief pause before Heero reappeared, gun drawn."Where are they?" he asked, gum aimed into the middle of her chest.

Dorothy laughed and leaned against the wall."I don't think shooting me would be the wisest decision, Mr. Yuy.After all, I'm the one in the know."

"Tell me where they are."

"Tut tut.Someone's getting rather redundant.Why do you want to know?"

"My mission requires…"

"No, Heero."She pushed herself off the wall and stared straight at him, all mockery gone."Tell me _why_ you want to know."

The kiss began tentatively, both acutely aware of how awkward the unfamiliar the situation was.Slowly, though, the kisses became longer and more involved.Quatre smiled against her mouth when he felt her tongue brush his lips hesitantly.

"My, bold aren't we?"

"Shut up before I play cowering virgin."

Quatre tilted her head and they kissed again, her arms wrapped around his neck.Languidly, his lips trailed down to her neck and he gently began sucking at the sensitive skin.The new sensation made Relena squirm and she tried to tilt her head protectively, but he stubbornly stayed put, increasing the pressure till Relena gave in and leaned her head back against the seat cushion.

Clothing dropped onto the floor intermittently.Relena froze and gave him a panicked look when he began to slide the zipper of her ball gown down.He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose.Smiling tremulously, she nodded her head and held her breath as he slid the dress off.The air came out in one big whoosh when his mouth closed over her nipple.

"Well? I'm waiting, Heero."

"You're question doesn't make any sense.I've made my mission parameters quite clear."

There were a several moments of silence as the two stared at each other across the hallway.Dorothy suddenly let out a small laugh.Without the usual infusion of mockery, it sounded hollow.

"Look at us," she said, sweeping her arm out."The both of us are very alike, Heero.We were both trained to be weapons of destruction.My grandfather gave me my first rapier at the age of six.He told me it would help me conquer the world."She took another step and slowly began to circle him."At the age of eleven, I killed my first man.At thirteen, Grandfather introduced me to his mistress who tutored me in the ways of seduction for the next two and a half years.By then, I was already politically proficient, and sex just added another weapon to my arsenal.By the time I waltzed through the doors of Miss Relena's academy, I was more worldly and jaded than all those girls combined. A FINE tool for the fine folks of Romefeller."

She stopped in front of him."And what about you, Heero? How was your childhood? I'm sure it was filled with sunshine and roses like mine."Dorothy laughed again, a bitter harsh sound that grated on even Heero's ears."We're weapons, Heero Yuy.We were meant to be pointed and shot.Peace may have taken the edge off, but it can't change us completely.We're weapons, Heero Yuy, and weapons can't love."

Dorothy only smiled as Heero pulled the trigger.

Relena bit her lip as she felt Quatre slide into her.She knew the facts about sex, but it still hadn't prepared her for the pain.Quatre made small calming noises into her throat, periodically sucking the sensitive skin gently.He lifted his head and their eyes met.She took both his hands in hers before nodding her head gently.The pain made it uncomfortable at first, but eventually the heat began to consume her and eventually it took her over.

She had wanted to call Quatre's name out when the pressure reached bursting point.It would have made the act seem more intimate and optimistic; a new beginning instead of a detour from normality.But in the end, nothing was heard except for their small gasps and moans.Relena could feel her heartbeat gradually slow down, the sweat evaporate off her skin.Despite her discomfort, she kept Quatre close by, hands still clutched in his.At least she didn't feel alone for now.

_Heero_.

The bullet whizzed past Dorothy's ear and slammed into the wall behind her.The smile never slipped.

"Love has nothing to do with this, Dorothy.She is my job and responsibility, so tell me where she is."

Dorothy shook her head."There's no use lying to me, Heero.You watch her for the same reason I watch Quatre.You're hoping that somewhere along the way, the skies will open up and love will just appear within you and perform some sort of miracle.The humanization of Heero Yuy," she mocked."A nice dream but an impossible one coming from either you or I."

Heero said nothing, but the gun had dropped slightly, aimed more or less at her appendix now instead of her heart.Dorothy shrugged and smiled again, the smug expression back on her face.

" But don't worry, Heero.I won't tell anyone.You can think of it as our little secret."

Dressed and hugging in the back of the limo, they looked out the window and watched the houses zoom by.They hadn't talked at all, the silence only broken once when Quatre had flipped on the intercom and told Abdul they could go back home.They were at the gates when Quatre finally spoke.

"I thought of her in the end."

"I know."

They smiled at each other sadly, both wishing it could be different.In the end, Relena merely took his hand in hers once more.

"No regrets?"

"None."

The limo slid to a halt in front of the palace.

Shortly after midnight, the engagement of Dorothy Catalonia to Prime Minister Peter Tanaka was announced, much to everyone's surprise.Quatre sipped his wine calmly from the back of the room and watched the smirking bride-to-be.Unlike the tittering crowd around him, he had not been caught unaware, and he knew full well why Dorothy had consented.

'It's always the politics, isn't it Dorothy? You can cry now, but you still can't love.'

Their gaze met across the room.He toasted her with his glass and she raised her eyebrows in response.

'My love would've been enough for the both of us.'

***

AC 204

The sentiment had grown old, so Relena turned off the television and began walking through the dark house towards her bedroom.Heero had a job tonight, so the house was completely empty save for her.She didn't like it, but she had grown used to the feeling of being alone.

She was acutely aware of how big her bed was as she slipped between the sheets.

Sometime after one o'clock, she heard her door latch click, and looked at the doorway expectantly.A figure slipped in and made his way towards the bed.He sat on the edge and began to take off his shoes.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all."

"The party ran long.I couldn't get away."

He quickly stripped and slid under the covers.He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her naked body to his.They kissed for several moments.

"Happy New Year's, Quatre."

Who would begrudge them this one night?

"Happy New Year's, Relena."


End file.
